High Performance Team

In any industry, it’s the people who play a vital role in organizational growth and is a key to organizational success. A famous US tycoon well said “To transform your business, transform your people”.

This could lead us to thinking that the performance of people and further teams is a prime catalyst to the growth and development of any organisation. Which further poses a question about what a high performance team means? A high performing team is a group of people who work together for a common goal and are able to achieve extraordinary results because they have created a solid foundation for productive communication, innovative solutions, and great performance. In other words, they have equipped themselves with the right high performance ‘team culture’.

We could say that leaders of the organizations have the power to design teams that can get great results, be highly dedicated with the right skill sets, and experience less stress on the job.

It becomes the leader’s responsibility to make sure people work together in a productive way, taking personal responsibility for their own performance, as well as that of the overall business. Having done that generates measurable improvement every time.

Before discussing about high performance teams, lets understand the common characteristics of a team.

Common Characteristics of Teams

A common purpose

Feeling a sense of belonging

Positive influence upon one another

Open & transperant communication

The first element of effective teamwork is in the design of the team itself. Some of the essential ingredients in designing a team are:

Member Selection

Member Education

Leadership Skills

Leadership Skills

Encourage participation, use personal examples

Hear all sides of the story, interact, share responsibilities

Trust collogues and team members

Resolve conflicts

Determine who is responsible for executing team decisions

Be enthusiastic and consistent

Member Selection

A team is only as powerful as the people in it. Select members according to necessary skills, experience and expertise. Members also need to understand WIIFM, or What’s In It For Me – this fosters team commitment and ownership.

Member Education

Members cannot be expected to participate fully if they do not have knowledge required for their input to be valuable.

Traits of High Performance Teams

There is a basic discipline that ensures that teams work and that they are dedicated toward a high level of performance. Teams exist to perform some vital function. Successful teams shape their purpose in response from demand or challenge provided by higher levels of leadership.

There are 9 traits which truly successful teams have in common. These characteristics, when mastered individually and combined, are the foundation for achieving a high performance team.

A highly successful performance team is one that functions as a cohesive unit, working together for a common purpose with well-defined goals and shared rewards (credit/discredit). Successful teams increasingly demonstrate competence, confidence, accountability and celebration.

Trait #1 – Develop Common Purpose

Trait #2 – Formulate Mutual Operational Values

Trait #3 – Clarify Team Roles and Procedures

Trait #4 – Lead Effective Meetings

Trait #5 – Effective Decision-Making Ability

Trait #6 – Conflict Resolution

Trait #7 – Trust and mutual understanding

Trait #8 – Produce and Develop Team Evaluations

Trait #9 – Shared Rewards and Celebrating

Some of the biggest Impediments to build a high performance teams are lack of leadership, individual ego, mistrust, lack of motivation, guidance and communication . In-spite of several barriers open differences can become sources of strength when dealt with openly and honestly.

If any team develops the above mentioned 9 traits with support of right guidance and right leadership, can become a high performance team. High Performance team members have an inbuilt need and ambition to go after bigger challenges and they bring with them a work attitude and work ethic that creates a deeper commitment to the collective mission.